Celtics hope strong defense can withstand Cleveland's surge

Monday

Now that their wild weekend is in the rear-view mirror, the Boston Celtics turn their attention to a difficult assignment.

Now that their wild weekend is in the rear-view mirror, the Boston Celtics turn their attention to a difficult assignment.

The Celtics will be in Cleveland tonight (7:05, TV: Comcast SportsNet; radio: WEEI-850 AM) where they will try to slow down the sizzling LeBron James, who has recorded back-to-back triple-doubles for the Cavaliers.

James, who led Cleveland to a spot in the NBA Finals last spring, is leading the league in scoring (31.4 points) and is averaging 8.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 2.1 steals in 14 games.

Over the weekend, James had 37 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday and 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

Those performances came after a 45-point, eight-rebound, five-assist outing against the Minnesota Timberwolves last Wednesday.

James already has four triple-doubles in the first 14 games -- giving him 16 in his career -- and the Cavaliers are off to an 8-6 start.

The Celtics, the top defensive team in the NBA allowing 89.7 points on 40.9 percent shooting, will be looking to improve on their 11-1 record. Boston has not had a mark like that after 12 games since the 1984-85 season when it eventually went 15-1.

The Celtics enter this week after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers at the emotionally-charged TD Banknorth Garden last Friday and stunning the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night when Ray Allen hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer after Eddie House deflected an inbounds pass to Paul Pierce.

“Somehow we snagged it from them,” Pierce told reporters after the game. "Wow. That's all I can say.”

The victories enabled the Celtics to open a five-game lead over the Raptors and New Jersey Nets in the Atlantic Division.

The Celtics are off to their best start in better than a decade thanks to their defense that has been keyed by Kevin Garnett.

Boston, which is 4-1 on the road, has allowed just two teams to surpass the 100-point mark. The Nets had 101 points in a loss at home to the Celtics and the Orlando Magic had 104 points when they edged Boston by two in
Florida.

The Celtics lead the NBA in point differential (plus-13), the only team above 10 entering Monday night. Boston is also first in shooting percentage (49.6) with Pierce (22.2), Garnett (20.9) and Allen (19.6) leading the offense.

It appears the Celtics will be without Tony Allen when they face the Cavaliers. He suffered a bruised right thigh in the second quarter against the Bobcats and did not return.

Ray Allen sustained a mild right ankle sprain in that victory, and is also listed as day-to-day, though he is expected to face the Cavaliers.

The Celtics spent Sunday and Monday in Charlotte, and after practicing in North Carolina, flew to Ohio.

Boston has a busy stretch ahead as it hosts the New York Knicks on TNT Thursday night, then takes on the Heat in Miami on Friday night. The Celtics and Cavaliers meet again Sunday afternoon at the TD Banknorth Garden.